Part catalogue creation apparatus

ABSTRACT

In a part catalog creating system, a part table containing design change numbers respectively set for parts, and header numbers, part numbers, and quantity of the parts, each of which corresponds to the design change numbers, is created, and product number data that contains design change number of part used for manufacturing each product is created, and information that coincides with the product number data is selected from the part table, thereby creating a product number list. The product number list and images of parts corresponding to the product number list are combined and the part catalog data for each product number is output. Thus, the part catalog can be easily created without errors.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a part catalog creating systemcapable of creating catalogs of a plurality of parts composing a productobtained by assembling the plurality of parts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] When a customer purchases a product composed of a plurality ofparts and prepares spares of expendable parts of the product, or theparts break down and hence should be repaired, the customer needs a partcatalog in which part numbers are listed for the customer to order theparts.

[0003] In the case of products composed of a few parts, it is relativelyeasy to create a part catalog for each product. However, in the case ofproducts, for example, robot products, which are composed of numerousparts, and are required to meet various requirements of customers, andto deal with constantly advancing performance of control parts or thelike, in an extreme case, products designed differently with very smalldifference for each product, the parts vary from product to product. Insuch products, therefore, it is not easy to create the part catalogs ofthe parts. In the case of the robot product, part configuration in eachrobot manufactured based on the customers' requirements varies fromcustomer to customer, and its design cycle is extremely short.Therefore, in order to meet the customers' requirements, it is necessaryto frequently create part catalogs containing different contents in ashort period, which requires enormous labor and cost.

[0004] For this reason, the part catalogs of the robot products arecreated for a representative product in special occasion, for example,in a time period when new products are placed on sale, and thereafter,after services such as revision associated with design change are hardlyprovided. That is, the catalos are transiently created. More often thannot, the contents of the catalogs become obsolete, and hence becomeunserviceable.

[0005] Conventionally, the part catalogs associated with the robotproduct are created by manually selecting parts of the product fromtotal part list in which all the parts used to manufacture the robotproduct are listed. Regardless of change in the parts to be usedaccording to design change, there arise problems that part numbersbefore change are listed by mistake, wrong part numbers are describedbecause of posting error, or optional parts demanded by the customer arenot listed.

[0006] Further, it is virtually difficult to create the part catalogs tohave a one to one correspondence with the robot products designeddifferently for each robot as described above, in view of required laborand cost effectiveness.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention provides a part catalog creating systemcomprising:

[0008] (a) a part table creating means including a first storage portionconfigured to store a part table to be rewritable, the part tablecontaining design change numbers respectively set for a plurality ofparts composing a product obtained by assembling the plurality of partsand information corresponding to the design change numbers;

[0009] (b) a product number data creating means including a secondstorage portion configured to store product number data containingdesign change numbers and information of parts used for each of productnumbers of a product assembled with different part configurations so asto correspond to the product numbers;

[0010] (c) a judgment means configured to compare a design change numberof the product number data of the product that has been read out fromthe second storage portion to a design change number of the part tablethat has been read out from the first storage portion, select the designchange number of the part table that coincides with the design changenumber that has been read out from the second storage portion, andremove design change numbers remaining unselected and informationcorresponding to the unselected design change numbers from the parttable; and

[0011] (d) a control means configured to create part catalog data foreach product number of the product from the part table that contains theinformation corresponding to the design change number selected by thejudgment means, and to output the part catalog data.

[0012] In accordance with the present invention, the judgment meanscompares the part table stored in the part table creating means to theproduct number data stored in the product number data creating means,and based on the design change number specified by the product numberdata, the part table corresponding to each product number of the productcan be selected and created without human's labor. Therefore, the parttable for each product number of the product can be created correctlyand without a need for much labor, without errors in posting, missing ofoptional parts, etc.

[0013] So, in the case of the product, for example, a robot, which iscomposed of numerous parts, has a variety of part configurationsaccording to the customers' requirements, and is designed in a shortcycle, the part catalog having a one to one correspondence with theproduct can be created correctly and without much labor.

[0014] The part catalog creating system may further comprises

[0015] an image creating means configured to create an imagecorresponding to the design change number selected by the judgmentmeans, wherein

[0016] the control means may be configured to create the part catalogdata for each product number of the product, from the image created bythe image creating means and the part table containing the design changenumber selected by the judgment means and information corresponding tothe design change number, and to output the part catalog data.

[0017] In accordance with the present invention, the control meanscombines the part table selected by the judgment means with the imageselected by the judgment means, and creates and output the part catalogdata for each product number of the product. Thereby, the part catalogdata including the image can be created so as to have a one to onecorrespondence with the product number of the product correctly andwithout much labor.

[0018] In the part catalog creating system, the informationcorresponding to the design change numbers which are stored in the firststorage portion of the part table creating means may include headernumbers, part numbers, and quantity (the number) of parts required to beassembled into the product,

[0019] the information stored in the second storage portion of theproduct number data creating means may include design change numbers ofparts used for each product number of the product, header numbers of theparts, part numbers of the parts, and quantity (the number) of parts tobe assembled into the product, and

[0020] the information corresponding to the unselected design changenumbers removed from the part table by the judgment means may includeheader numbers, part numbers, and quantity (the number) of partsrequired to be assembled into the product.

[0021] In accordance with the present invention, the header number, thepart number, and the quantity of parts required to be assembled into theproduct, each of which corresponds to the design change number, can beoutput as the part catalog data. Thereby, the part can be specified moreeasily.

[0022] In the part catalog creating system, the part catalog data outputby the control means may include a part name corresponding to the designchange number.

[0023] In accordance with the present invention, the part catalogcreated from the part catalog data includes the part name correspondingto the design change number. Since individual parts can be specified bythe part names in addition to the images, required parts can bespecified more correctly.

[0024] In the part catalog creating system, the control means may createthe part catalog data for each product number of the product from thepart table that contains the design change number selected by thejudgment means, the part number and the quantity of the parts requiredto be assembled into the product each of which corresponds to the designchange number, and output the part catalog data in such a manner thatparts for standard equipment are distinguished from optional parts.

[0025] In accordance with the present invention, the optional partsequipped for each product number can be easily known, in addition to theparts for standard equipment, and preparation of the parts in theworking station or the like is facilitated.

[0026] The part catalog creating system may further comprise:

[0027] a communication means configured to transmit the part catalogdata output from the control means through a communication network,wherein the part catalog is searchable and accessible through thecommunication means.

[0028] In accordance with the present invention, the part catalog datafor each product number which is output by the control means can betransmitted by the communication means through a communication networksuch as a public phone line. The communication network is realized by,for example, Internet. Customers, selling companies, and the like cansearch and access to the part catalog created for each product numberwhich is transmitted through the communication means through terminalsconnected to the communication network.

[0029] In the part catalog creating system, the part catalog data outputfrom the control means may be stored in an external storage medium toallow a part catalog to be delivered.

[0030] In accordance with the present invention, the part catalog storedin the external storage medium can be delivered to the customer togetherwith the product. By delivering the part catalog stored in the storagemedium, the customer does not confuse the product listed in the partcatalog with the delivered product. In addition, with the part catalogcorresponding to the delivered product, the customer can easily specifyand order the required parts. Further, by storing the part catalogdelivered together with the product, for example, in a storage portionprovided in the product, missing of the part catalog can be avoided, andinformation relating to maintenance of the product can be easilyobtained from the stored part catalog.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031]FIG. 1 is a view showing a simplified configuration of a partcatalog creating system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0032]FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a part table;

[0033]FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of an output of optional partdata stored in a second storage portion;

[0034]FIG. 4 is a view showing a distribution list image that providesan instruction on supply of parts to working sections;

[0035]FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of an output of a list foreach robot number as a part table by a judgment means;

[0036]FIG. 6 is a view of an example of an image of a part catalogshowing an apparatus construction of a robot;

[0037]FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of a content list portion ofthe part catalog relating to each assembly of the robot;

[0038]FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of the part catalog relatingto an assembly of the robot;

[0039]FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining a creating operation of thepart catalog in a part catalog creating system 1; and

[0040]FIG. 10 is a view showing a simplified configuration of a partcatalog creating system according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0041]FIG. 1 is a view showing a simplified configuration of a partcatalog creating system 1 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The part catalog creating system 1 comprises a part tablecreating means 4 comprised of a first input means 2 configured to inputdesign change number set for each of a plurality of parts composing aproduct obtained by assembling the plurality of parts, and headernumber, part number, part name and quantity (the number) of partsrequired to be assembled into the product, each of which corresponds tothe design change number, and a first storage portion 3 that stores apart table containing the design change number, the header number, thepart number, the part name, and the quantity of parts required to beassembled into the product, each of which is input with the first inputmeans 2, such that the part table is rewritable, a product number datacreating means 7 comprised of a second input means 5 configured to inputa design change number of a part used for each product number of aproduct assembled with different part configurations, and header number,part number, and quantity (the number) of parts required to be assembledinto the product, each of which corresponds to the design change number,and a second storage portion 6 configured to store the design changenumber input with the second input means 5 as corresponding to theproduct number of the product, a judgment means 8 configured to comparethe design change number corresponding to the product number of theproduct which has been read out from the second storage portion 6 to thedesign change number of the part table that has been read out from thefirst storage portion 3, select only the design change number of thepart table that coincides with the design change number read out fromthe second storage portion 6, and remove design change numbers remainingunselected, and header numbers, part numbers, and quantity of partsrequired to be assembled into the product, each of which corresponds tothe unselected design change numbers, from the part table, an imagecreating means 9 configured to create an image of the part correspondingto the header number, and a control means 10 configured to combine thepart table that contains the design change number selected by thejudgment means 8, the header number, the part number and the quantity ofparts required to be assembled into the product each of whichcorresponds to the design change number with the image corresponding tothe header number selected by the judgment means 8, create and outputpart catalog data for each product number.

[0042] In this embodiment, a robot product will be described as anexample of a product. Hereinbelow, how to create a part catalog of therobot product will be described. The robot product comprises an armportion and a control portion. The arm portion and the control portioncomprise members forming groups into which a plurality of parts areassembled. Herein, for the sake of convenience, the robot is called aproduct and the arm portion and the control portion are called controlequipment. Each member composed of a plurality of parts and forming thegroup in a layer lower than the arm portion and the control portion iscalled an assembly.

[0043] The part table creating means 4 is included in a system (herein,“design management system) having a function to input, hold, and outputinformation relating to items of all the parts composing the robot andpart configuration of the assembly, and information such as item changein the parts associated with design change in the robot product. Thepart table creating means 4 is a processing circuit realized by acomputer or the like in which a central processing unit (CPU) ismounted.

[0044] The first input means 2 may be realized by, for example, a keyboard, with which character such as text and numeric character, isinput, or may be realized by a bar code reader configured to readinformation from a bar code representing information, such as the designchange number, the header number, the part number, the part name, andthe required number, each of which corresponds to each part, and inputthe information. In order to reduce input errors, it is preferred thatthe bar code is created in advance and the information is input by thebar code reader.

[0045] As the first storage portion 3, a storage component such as arandom access memory, a flash memory, or a hard disc which is capable ofrewriting a stored content, is used. The first storage portion 3 storesthe part table that contains the design change number, and the headernumber, the part number, the part name, the quantity of parts, and thelike, each of which is input with the second input means 2. The firststorage portion 3 is rewritable. When the item of the part,configuration of the assembly, and the like are changed according to thedesign change in the robot product, the change is overwritten oradditionally written according to the change input with the first inputmeans, thereby changing the part table.

[0046] Thus, the part table can be corrected according to sequentialdesign change in the robot product. Therefore, revised version of thepart catalog described later can be easily created according to thecorrected content of the part table. As a result, the part catalog isinhibited from becoming obsolete.

[0047]FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a part table 11. The parttable 11 is an example obtained by reading the content stored in thefirst storage portion 3 and output onto a paper. In FIG. 2, numberrepresented by alphabet and numeric values listed in column ofassortment code 12 is header number of part, number represented bycombination of numeric values listed in column of item code 13 is partnumber, combination of text and numeric values listed in columns of itemname (English) 14 and item name (Japanese) 15 represent part name 16,and numeric value listed in column of head count 17 represent quantity(the number) of parts. In this embodiment, the design change number isused to specify the part by the part table creating means 4, the robotnumber data creating means 7, and the judgment means 4 for creation ofthe part catalog, but is not listed in the part table and the partcatalog.

[0048] In this embodiment, other information such as drawing number 18and material of each part are input with the first input means 2, andstored in the first storage portion 3. These information also form thepart table 11. Information relating to all the parts used formanufacturing the robot product, are stored in the part table creatingmeans 4, as the part table, regardless of the type and robot number ofthe robot product.

[0049] The robot number data creating means 7 comprises a system (hereinreferred to as “production management and acquisition managementsystems”) having a function to input and store information relating toitems of optional parts to be added to parts for standard equipment,which are used for assembling the robot, based on the parts for standardequipment and customers' requirements, and a function to output aninstruction for acquiring the parts required for assembling andsupplying the parts (hereinafter referred to as “distribution”) to theassembling working section, when the robot number of the robot to beactually manufactured is determined. The robot number data creatingmeans 7 is a processing circuit realized by a computer in which acentral processing unit (CPU) is mounted.

[0050] The second input means 5 is realized by the bar code readerand/or the key board. With the second input means 5, the design changenumber of the part for the standard equipment and the optional part, andthe robot number set as corresponding to the robot to be manufactured,are input. By doing this, the robot number of the robot to bemanufactured is associated with the design change numbers of the partsto be used in the robot.

[0051] As the second storage portion 6, the storage component such asthe random access memory, the flash memory, or the hard disc which canrewrite its stored content is used, as in the first storage portion 3.The robot number of the robot to be manufactured and the design changenumber of the part to be used for manufacturing and assembling the robotare stored in the second storage portion 6 for each robot.

[0052] In this embodiment, since the design management system comprisingthe part table creating means 4 is connected to the productionmanagement and acquisition management system comprising the robot numberdata creating means 7 as shown in FIG. 1, data such as the headernumber, the part number, the part name, and the quantity of parts areextracted from the part table according to the design change numberinput with the second input means 5, and the header number, the partnumber, or the like corresponding to the design change number input withthe second input means 5 are stored in the second storage portion 6.

[0053]FIG. 3 is view showing an example of an output of optional partdata 21 stored in the second storage portion 6. FIG. 4 is a view of animage of a distribution list 22 that provides instruction on supply ofparts to working sections. The customer requests a manufacturer to addthe optional parts for improvement of performance or the like accordingto use of the robot product and environment where the robot is used. Theoptional part is input to and stored in the second storage portion 6such that the optional part is distinguished from the part for standardequipment. FIG. 3 shows the example of the optional part data 21, whichare the content read out from the second storage portion 6 and outputonto a paper. In FIG. 3, assortment code 12 is header number, partnumber 13 is number of the part, and part name 16 is name of the part.The optional part data 21 include quantity (the number) of parts 17,drawing number 18, material 19, and the like, in addition to the abovedescribed items.

[0054] Distribution list is part list output as an instruction forsupplying parts required for assembling to the working section in eachof manufacturing steps to manufacture the robot to be actuallymanufactured. FIG. 4 shows the example of the image of the distributionlist 22 displayed on a display means (liquid crystal panel, monitor,etc) (not shown) included in the production management and acquisitionmanagement system. By way of example, the distribution list 22represents the robot number 23 set as corresponding to the robot to bemanufactured and input with the second input means 5, by “0014.”

[0055] The distribution list 22 indicates parts for standard equipmentand optional parts. A standard portion 24 indicates the parts forstandard equipment and an order-receiving portion 25 indicates theoptional parts. Therefore, in the part catalog described later which iscreated using data in the distribution list 22, the parts for standardequipment are distinguishable from the optional parts. In thedistribution list 22, the assortment code 12 is the header number, itemcode 13 is part number, item name 16 is part name, and required number17 is quantity (the number) of parts. Instruction number 26 displayed inthe distribution list 22 represents the quantity of the parts to besupplied to the working section at the time point when the distributionlist 22 is output, and completion number 27 represents the quantity ofparts which have been supplied according to the instruction number 26.

[0056] The distribution list is created to include all the parts forstandard equipment and optional parts which are required to be assembledinto each robot to be manufactured and for each working step. Since thepart data stored in the second storage portion 6 of the robot numberdata creating means 7 in order to output the distribution list has a oneto one correspondence with the robot number of the robot to be actuallymanufactured and delivered to the customer, the part catalog for eachrobot number can be created based on the part data for each robot numberstored in the second storage portion 2.

[0057] Turning back to FIG. 1, the judgment means 8 is included in thesystem (herein referred to as “sale management system”) having afunction to read out the part table from the first storage portion 3,select and output items and configuration of the parts to be sold, forthe purpose of selling the parts used for manufacturing the robotproduct to a robot selling company, or a customer for each part, foreach assembly, or for each control equipment.

[0058] The judgment means 8 responds to an input signal from the controlmeans 10 that specifies a robot number for which the part catalog is tobe created. Based on information relating to all the part configurationsforming the robot, and information such as item change of the partassociated with design change of the robot product, which is output fromthe part table creating means 4, and robot number part data from therobot number data creating means 7, the judgment means 8 creates andoutputs a part table including only the design change number thatcoincides with the design change number corresponding to the robotnumber specified by the input signal, i.e., the parts used formanufacturing the robot for which the part catalog is to be created (thepart table thus selected is sometimes referred to as “robot number list28.”) The judgment means 8 is a processing circuit realized by acomputer in which a central processing unit (CPU) is mounted.

[0059] In this embodiment, the judgment means 8 creates the robot numberlist 28 according to the signal from the control means 10, specifyingthe robot number for which the part catalog is to be created.Alternatively, the judgment means 8 included in the sale managementsystem may be provided with a fourth input means 61 and a fifth storageportion 62. In this configuration, the robot number for which the robotnumber list 28 is to be created is input with the fourth input means 61as the information such as the sale management information, and inaccordance with the input signal, the judgment means 8 may create therobot number list 28 and store the robot number list 28 in the fifthstorage portion 62. In this case, in accordance with the signal from thecontrol means 10, the robot number list 28 stored in the fifth storageportion 62 is output. The fourth input means 61 is realized by a barcodereader and/or keyboard, and the fifth storage portion 62 is realized bya storage component such as a random access memory, a flash memory, or ahard disc.

[0060]FIG. 5 shows an example of an output of the robot number list 28as the part table created by the judgment means 8. In the robot numberlist 28, assortment code 12 is header number, child item code 13 is partnumber, English name 14 and Japanese name 15 are part names 16, and headcount 17 is quantity (the number) of parts. In addition to these, therobot number list 28 includes material 19 to be output.

[0061] The image creating system 9 in FIG. 1 is an illustration creatingsystem configured to create images corresponding to all the partsincluded in the part table created by the part table creating means 4,so called illustrations, as corresponding to the header numbers. Theimage creating system 9 is a processing circuit realized by a computerin which a central processing unit (CPU) is mounted. Also, the imagecreating system 9 is configured to form an image for each product, foreach control equipment, and for each assembly, as well as the image foreach part. For example, when a robot number of the robot to be actuallymanufactured is determined and set, and the robot number is input to therobot number data creating means 7 with the second input means 5, therobot number and an identification number with which group defined foreach control equipment and for each assembly is identified, are input.And, the robot number and the group identification number, which havebeen given to the control means 10 by the robot number data creatingmeans 7, are given to the image creating system 9 by the control means10, thereby forming the images for each product to be manufacturedaccording to the robot number and the group identification number, andfor each control equipment and assembly forming the robot. Theillustration creating system as the image creating means 9 is providedwith a third storage portion 29 configured to store image data of therespective parts created as corresponding to the header numbers, imagedata of the product, image data of the control equipment and image dataof the assembly.

[0062] The control means 10 is a processing circuit realized by acomputer in which a central processing unit (CPU) is mounted. The thirdinput means 30, the judgment means 8, and the image creating means 9 areconnected to the control means 10, and the output of the control means10 is given to the display means 32 and the storage means 33. Inaddition, the control means 10 is provided with a fourth storage portion31 in which the part catalog data is stored. Herein, a sectioncomprising the control means 10, the third input means 30, the displaymeans 32, the storage means 33, and the fourth storage portion 31 andhaving a function to create and output the part catalog data is called apart catalog automatic creating system 34.

[0063] The third input means 30 is realized by a key board or the like.With the third input means 30, the robot number for which the partcatalog is to be created is selected and is input to the control means10. In response to the input signal from the third input means 30 thatspecifies the robot number, the control means 10 takes in the robotnumber list 28 corresponding to the specified robot number from thejudgment means 8. Also, the control means 10 takes in the image data ofeach part with the header number corresponding to the robot number list28 set, from the image creating system 9 or from the third storageportion 29 included in the image creating system 9. The control means 10combine these image data to create the part catalog data for each robotnumber. The created part catalog data is output to one of or both of thedisplay means 32 and the storage means 33 by the control means 10 andare stored in the fourth storage portion 31.

[0064] The display means 32 is realized by a liquid crystal displaypanel or a cathode ray tube. The storage means 33 comprises a printerand a recorder. The storage means 33 is configured to store the partcatalog data in one of or both of the paper 36 and an electric medium 37as external storage media 35 and create the part catalog. The electronicmedium 37 may be, for example, a flexible disc (FD) by magnetic storage,or may be, for example, a compact disc (CD-R) by optical storage. Thepart catalog is offered in one or a plurality of forms selected from thepaper, the FTD, the CD-R, and the like.

[0065] The storage medium that contains the part catalog is offered tothe customer together with, for example, the robot product. The storagemedium given to the customer inhibits the customer from confusing therobot listed in the part catalog with the robot delivered to thecustomer, and the customer can easily specify and order required partswith reference to the part catalog corresponding to the delivered robot.Further, by storing the part catalog delivered together with the robotin a storage portion provided in the robot, missing of the part catalogcan be avoided, and information relating to maintenance of the robot orthe like can be easily obtained from the stored part catalog.

[0066]FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of the image of the partcatalog illustrating an apparatus construction of the robot. FIG. 7 is aview showing an example of a content list portion 48 of the part catalogassociated with each assembly of the robot. FIG. 8 is a view showing anexample of the part catalog of the parts forming the assembly of therobot.

[0067] FIGS. 6 to 8 illustrate the part catalog output onto the paper36. FIG. 6 shows a construction of an apparatus called an arm portion 41of the robot. As shown in FIG. 6, the arm portion 41 is composed ofassemblies called units, i.e., an upper arm unit 42, a lower arm unit43, a link unit 44, a list unit 45, a balancer unit 46, and a base unit47.

[0068] The units 42 to 47 are each composed of assemblies in a lowerlayer, and the part catalogs are created for each of the assemblies. Thepart catalog for each assembly is illustrated in such a manner that theimage and page of the assembly are displayed in the content list portion48 in FIG. 8. For example, the part catalog relating to an assemblycalled “lower arm 3” is illustrated as listed on page 15 of the contentlist portion 48. On page 15, a part catalog 49 of the “lower arm 3”shown in FIG. 8 is found.

[0069] An image portion 50 of the part catalog 49 of the “lower arm 3”in FIG. 8 displays header number “P018” representing a clamp duct as onepart of the “lower arm 3” as indicated by a reference numeral 51. Theheader number 51 represents that a shape of the clamp duct is an image(illustration) 53 indicated by a drawing line 52. Meanwhile, on a listportion 54 of the part catalog 49 of the “lower arm 3,” the headernumber is displayed on the column of “No.” On a line of the headernumber 51 “P018” on the list portion 54, part number “60373-1221”, partname “clamp duct 2”, and quantity of parts “2” are displayed.

[0070] FIGS. 6 to 8 show the part catalog obtained by outputting thepart catalog data to the paper 36 (FIG. 1) of the storage means 33 bythe control means 10. In the same manner, the part catalog data can beoutput to, for example, the display means 32 comprised of the liquidcrystal panel. When the part catalog is displayed on the display means32, the display means 32 is provided with a function in which link isformed between an image and a display portion on the image which areassociated with each other by the header number, and free movementbetween images and between display portions on the image, is performedin accordance with an operation to select a hot spot formed on the image(“function similar to “hyperlink”). For example, among the imagerepresenting the configuration of the control equipment of the armportion 41 in FIG. 6, the image of the content list portion 48 in FIG.7, and the image of the part catalog 49 of the “lower arm 3” in FIG. 8,free movement is carried out by using a mouse or the like as the inputmeans provided in the display means 32 to select the hot spot.

[0071]FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining operations for creating thepart catalog in the part catalog creating system 1. A series ofoperations for creating the part catalog for each robot number of therobot product by the part catalog creating system 1 will be describedwith reference to a flowchart in FIG. 9.

[0072] In step s1, with the first input means 2, a design change numberset as corresponding to each of the parts used for manufacturing therobot product, header number, part number, part name, and quantity (thenumber) of parts required to be assembled into the robot product, eachof which corresponds to the design change number, are input to the parttable creating means 4. In step s2, the part table that contains thedesign change number, the header number, the part number, the part name,and the quantity of parts is stored in the first storage portion 3. InStep s3, the image creating means 9 creates an image (illustration) ofeach part corresponding to the header number. The created image of eachpart is stored in the third storage portion 29.

[0073] In Step s4, with the second input means 5, a robot number of arobot product and design change number of the part for standardequipment and optional part, which are used in the robot of the robotnumber, are input to the robot number data creating means 7. In Step s5,the robot number of the robot product and the design change number ofthe part corresponding to the robot number, which correspond to theinput robot number data, are stored in the second storage portion 6.

[0074] In Step s6, the judgment means 8 compares the design changenumber in the part table which has been read out from the first storageportion 3 to the design change number corresponding to the robot numberwhich has been read out from the second storage portion 6. In Step s7,the judgment means 8 selects only the design change number correspondingto the robot number which has been read out from the second storageportion 6, from the part table, and removes the remaining design changenumber which have not been selected, and header numbers, part numbers,and the like, which correspond to the remaining design change numbers,from the part table.

[0075] In Step s8, the control means 10 takes in the image of the partthat coincides with the header number corresponding to the robot numberwhich has been read out from the second storage portion 6. In step s9,the control means 10 combines the selected part table and the taken-inimage, thereby creating the part catalog data. In step s10, the controlmeans 10 outputs the part catalog data to be stored in the storage means33 and creates the part catalog.

[0076] In Step s11, it is judged whether or not the part catalog of asubsequent robot number should be created. When it is judged that thepart catalog of the subsequent robot number should be created,processing returns to Step s4, and the following steps are performed.When it is judged that the part catalog of the subsequent robot numbershould not be created, the series of operations for creating the partcatalog is completed.

[0077] The above described series of operations are for the case wherethe part table and the part catalog for each robot number are newlycreated. Operations for creating the part catalog for each robot numberin the case where the created part table is stored in the first storageportion 3, various robot-number products have been already manufactured,and the robot number data for numerous robot-number products are storedin the second storage portion 6, will be described below.

[0078] First of all, with the third input means 30 (FIG. 1), the robotnumber for which the part catalog is to be created is selected and inputto the control means 10. The control mean 10 outputs a signal forspecifying the robot number to the judgment means 8. The judgment means8 responds to the signal for specifying the robot number and starts theoperation in step s6. The Step s6 and the following steps sequentiallyadvance along the steps shown in the flowchart in FIG. 9. When it isjudged that the part catalog of a subsequent robot number should becreated in step s11, the robot number for which a subsequent partcatalog is to be created is input to the control means 10 with the thirdinput means 30, and the above described operation is repeated. When itis judged that the subsequent part catalog should not be created, theseries of operations for creating the part catalog is completed.

[0079] As described above, the part table of the robot product iscreated, the robot number data creating means 7 specifies the parts usedfor the robot to be manufactured, and the judgment means 8 selects theparts from the part table and creates the robot number list 28 inaccordance with the specification by the robot number data creatingmeans 7. The control means 10 combines the robot number list 28 and theimages of the parts corresponding to the header numbers in the robotnumber list 28 and creates the part catalog.

[0080] As should be appreciated from the forgoing, in contrast to a casewhere the parts used for the robot to be manufactured are manuallyselected from the part table, mistakes in selection and errors inposting can be avoided and the parts can be selected without manuallabor. Therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce the laborrequired for creating the part catalog, and create the part cataloghaving a one to one correspondence with the robot number of the product.In addition, the part table is rewritable and when the parts used formanufacture are changed according to design change, the data in the parttable creating means 4 is rewritten with the first input means 2.Thereby, the part table can be easily updated and the part catalog basedon the part table can be updated. As a result, the part table isinhibited from becoming obsolete.

[0081]FIG. 10 is a view showing a simplified configuration of a partcatalog creating system 55 according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention. The part catalog creating system 55 of thisembodiment is similar to the part catalog creating system 1 of the firstembodiment, and in FIG. 10, the same reference numerals as those in FIG.1 denote the same or corresponding parts, which will not be furtherdescribed. It should be noted that the part catalog creating system 55further comprises a communication means 56 configured to transmit thepart catalog data output from the control means 10 through acommunication network.

[0082] The control means 10 of the part catalog creating system 55 isconnected to a public phone line 57 through a communication modem or thelike, and the public phone line 57 is connected to a network searchaccess system 58 in FIG. 10, thereby enabling communication. The networksearch access system 58 is realized by, for example, Internet. Thecommunication modem, the public phone line 57, and the network searchaccess system 58 realized by the Internet configure the communicationmeans 56.

[0083] The customer and the selling company that can search and accessto the part catalog comprise terminals 59 a, 59 b, and 59 c for searchand access and communication modems (including communication equipmentsuch as routers). The terminals 59 a, 59 b, and 59 c are connected topublic phone lines 60 a, 60 b, and 60 c through the communicationmodems, respectively. Since the public phone lines 60 a, 60 b, and 60 care connected to the network search access system 58, the customer, theselling company, and the like can search and access to the part catalogfor each robot number which is output from the control means 10 or thepart catalog for each robot number which is stored in the fourth storageportion 31.

[0084] By configuring so that the part catalog data for each robotnumber of the product which is output from the control means 10 throughthe communication means including a communication network such as thepublic phone line, the customer, the selling company and the like cansearch and access to the part catalog for each robot number of theproduct which is transmitted though the communication means by using theterminals connected to the communication network. Thereby, newestcatalog data is easily accessible even in a remote place.

[0085] Industrial Applicability

[0086] In accordance with the present invention, it is possible tocreate part catalogs having a one to one correspondence with a robotnumber of a product correctly and without much labor, for products suchas robot products which are composed of numerous parts, have a varietyof part configurations according to customers' requirements, and aredesigned in short cycles.

1. A part catalog creating system comprising: (a) a part table creatingmeans including a first storage portion configured to store a part tableto be rewritable, the part table containing design change numbersrespectively set for a plurality of parts composing a product obtainedby assembling the plurality of parts and information corresponding tothe design change numbers; (b) a product number data creating meansincluding a second storage portion configured to store product numberdata containing design change numbers and information of parts used foreach of product numbers of a product assembled with different partconfigurations so as to correspond to the product numbers; (c) ajudgment means configured to compare a design change number of theproduct number data of the product that has been read out from thesecond storage portion to a design change number of the part table thathas been read out from the first storage portion, select the designchange number of the part table that coincides with the design changenumber that has been read out from the second storage portion, andremove design change numbers remaining unselected and informationcorresponding to the unselected design change numbers from the parttable; and (d) a control means configured to create part catalog datafor each product number of the product from the part table that containsthe information corresponding to the design change number selected bythe judgment means, and to output the part catalog data.
 2. The partcatalog creating system according to claim 1, further comprising: animage creating means configured to create an image corresponding to thedesign change number selected by the judgment means, wherein the controlmeans is configured to create the part catalog data for each productnumber of the product, from the image created by the image creatingmeans and the part table containing the design change number selected bythe judgment means and information corresponding to the design changenumber, and to output the part catalog data.
 3. The part catalogcreating system according to claim 1, wherein the informationcorresponding to the design change numbers which are stored in the firststorage portion of the part table creating means include header numbers,part numbers, and quantity of parts required to be assembled into theproduct, the information stored in the second storage portion of theproduct number data creating means include design change numbers ofparts used for each product number of the product, header numbers of theparts, part numbers of the parts, and quantity of the parts required tobe assembled into the product, and the information corresponding to theunselected design change numbers removed from the part table by thejudgment means include header numbers, part numbers, and the quantity ofparts required to be assembled into the product.
 4. The part catalogcreating system according to claim 2, wherein the part catalog dataoutput by the control means includes a part name corresponding to thedesign change number.
 5. The part catalog creating system according toclaim 3, wherein the control means creates the part catalog data foreach product number of the product from the part table that contains thedesign change number selected by the judgment means, the part number andthe quantity of the parts required to be assembled into the product,each of which corresponds to the design change number, and outputs thepart catalog data in such a manner that parts for standard equipment aredistinguished from optional parts.
 6. The part catalog creating systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a communication meansconfigured to transmit the part catalog data output from the controlmeans through a communication network, wherein the part catalog issearchable and accessible through the communication means.
 7. The partcatalog creating system according to claim 1, wherein the part catalogdata output from the control means is stored in an external storagemedium to allow the part catalog to be delivered.